[Closed] Anthem SX to Cotic Flare ?

Oh well !

I have a 26 soul. Just demoed a Flare - even the silver build felt fab, climbed surprisingly nicely, didn't chuck me into a bush on the steeper bits.

Santa hasn't spoken to me about this yet, but I'm still holding out hope.

Worth having a ride if you can to check the sizing, and whether you'd prefer the Flare Max. I'm 5ft 7ins, a small in Soul but definately a medium in the Flare.

EDIT: Just realised you wanted a comparison between the Anthem and the Flare. Never mind! My advice about getting in touch with Sam at Cotic for a demo still stands though. You do need to get on one.

Thanks, no demo days near me but have mailed Paul@cotic on sizing. I am 5'10 with short legs and long back. My Soul is a medium with 70mm stem and 711 bars.

How did it feel compared to your Soul ?

It's a heavier bike, obviously, but I don't feel like it would be too much slower on the ups, and certainly a lot better on the downs. The improvement in rear wheel traction on loose stuff was noticeable. The sizing felt spot on - I think it was a 50mm stem and bars around 700.

It's worth having an email conversation with Sam - he is very open to sorting out demos to suit demand. I don't think I could order one without slinging a leg over.

I thought I'd need a Large (as did Cy) but demo'd Med and Large and MUCH preferred Med. Being gibbon shaped 5ft11 of body is mostly back with little 31.5in legs! I really couldn't get on wth the L at all. So good to be able to demo them both. (did the same with the Aeris)

Reach is longish. Med would be my best guess but defo need to try. Sam will come to you if you ask nicely 🙂

I had a M soul. It was a long time ago so a Mk1 I guess. Running the flare with a 780m bar/50mm stem. Put 650km on it and done some all day rides and it's been absolutely spot on.

I'm 5ft 7ins, a small in Soul but definately a medium in the Flare.

Weird as the Flare is longer than the Soul so if you are happy on a small Soul I'd have thoguht you'd be on a small Flare.

I've got a small Soul and went with a small Flare, I could ride the medium but the seat tube was just a little too long on the medium so that a 125mm dropper, even with the collar slammed right to the clamp would have put the seat about 10-15mm to high for me when fully up, I'm 5'7(.5!) too.

I've got an XS BFe which I love and a small Flare which I am also smitten with. I'm 5'8" but I like small bikes. The small Flare has the bottle cage mounts under the downtube though, right in the path of shite from the front wheel, which is neither use nor ornament.

edit- with 26" wheels (no plan at all to use 650B) -

[IMG] [/IMG]

Great info. Cheers. Those with Flares, any negatives about them (noting bottle cage bolts) ?

I was disappointed the bottle cage mounts on the small frame are under the downtube but, you know what, the ride makes up for it so it's nowhere near as big a deal now as it was when I unpacked the frame.

Living the dream, two Cotics and a Quattro 😉

Devils advocate (as per my suggestion on the other thread) is whether you switch the Anthem for an Escapade (in that lovely red). My Covert hardly get's ridden as it's now for holidays, will a Flare and Soul both get the use ?

Jambalaya 😀 Having a CDF the Escapade doesn't get a look in. I need a winter HT and my 26 Soul ticks the boxes, cost a lot when I built it and hasn't much resale. The Flare would be a straight swop, use wise, for Anthem...

Anthem SX owner, demo'd a flare and rocket. The flare was a great bike, much much more confidence inspiring on the descents. Climbed nearly as well. Was a fun lively 'poppy' ride making the most of any trail features. Would be a good fun trail / XC (as in riding XC trails not racing XC) bike.

5'7” tried both small and medium, both ok but felt the medium a better fit.

In the end I bought an Aeris for reasons.

Thanks Mark, really helpful feedback.

I have just seen the the 17 Anthem :

[url= https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/anthem-1 ]here[/url]

Which may be an alternative, very similar geometry and spec to Flare, could get with club discount for a chunk less.....

Hmmm, heart says Flare, head maybe new Anthem....

I wouldn't underestimate the difference that the 1-1.5 deg head angle can make.

I went from 68/68.5 on the Chumba to 66.5 on the Rocket and it was kind of a revelation.

Descending went from skittering down stuff with brakes on/off 'on the edge' to I had better brake soon as I'm in the middle of nowhere (and nobodies expecting me)....

YMMV

Yeah, fair point, Anthem is 68 and Flare 67, plus Flare has a little more travel...

My current anthem SX is 68.5

And if you stick on 140mm travel 34's on it'll go 66,5 😀

Personally I like dealing with the smaller companies as they are a lot more flexible in the build. Cotic will let you swap parts in their 'customise' option (speak direct and they'll be even more flexible, they'll even leave parts off if you already got them). The ability to swap stem length, forks, brakes, wheels to suit taste (or budget) is a boon in my book.

Not an issue if you're happy with the anthem spec.

As I've said a few times on here, I love mine. Apart from a week in the Rhone Alps when I took my Aeris (and even that was a close call), I've ridden nothing else since late August. On the chubby tyres, it's been to a few trail centres, done a DH day at Antur (on all the trails), a day in the Lakes and lots of local riding in the Forest and Malvern Hills.

Lately I've switched it to 29er wheels for the winter. I prefer it on the chubby's but there's not a huge amount of clearance out back with a 2.8 Reckon.

So my experience of it as an all round trail bike is really positive. I prefer slightly shorter travel bikes. Had a Pyga 120 before and the Flare is just a more fun bike to ride, not as efficient, doesn't climb as well but is just a hoot everywhere and I've ridden scary stuff on it Ive bottled on my Mk1 Aeris. Doesn't make the Aeris a bad bike for a second but the flare just seems to suit me.

Sizing as ever is a pain for me. I really wanted a 150mm dropper but being a dwarf from the hips down, it was about 4mm too long. So mate mate modified a reverb to make it fit!

Only downsides I can think of is it's not light for a 120mm bike, there's not much clearance in the back, chubby tyres are fab but fragile (Rekon's are good but stupid money), and the chainstay yoke is a total mud magnet. Oh and the BB is a bit low in chubby mode. I don't care about bottle cages.

If Cotic hadn't made the flare max, I probably would have ended up with a second Aeris - the 120mm one. Again I can't speak highly enough of being able to call Cy/Paul at Cotic or Ben/Dave/Dan at Bird and chat through issues and questions.

29er mode:
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5697/30885944832_fd72a37f3d_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5697/30885944832_fd72a37f3d_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/P4hxmd ]Flare Max with 29er tyres for the winter[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

Chubby mode
[url= https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5538/30207386610_1305a8a51b_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5538/30207386610_1305a8a51b_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/N2jKCw ]FoD - Still mostly dry end of October[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

Oh and I did ride the 'standard' flare, but not for long enough to really make an opinion. I was kind of smitten by the chubby then! A mate rode it tho on the demo day and he's a blooming good rider. He was riding a Speech 650b stumpy at the time and much preferred the Flare. Through it was the perfect bike for the Forest including riding the silly/jumpy stuff.

I think the 2017 Anthem seems to sit between the older SX and a Flare. The Flare being that bit more down orinteted. Think the 2017 Anthem is a good step in the right direction for fun rather than race, but it's not as big a step as the Flare. Would the new Anthem seem too similar for a new bike and so a bit meh, or ideal if you like your current bike but want a newer possibly slightly more trail orinteted version.

Personally I wanted something slacker and bigger hitting on the downs to compensate for my skills, the Flare would have done that but in the end I decided to take a much bigger step in that direction. The Flare was very tempting though.

There is also a factor of who you want to buy a bike from and deal with, but the right bike has to come first.

Test ride has to be the way forward.

And if you stick on 140mm travel 34's on it'll go 66.5 😀

That's what I've done, well, not 34s but Durolux with the travel adjust button thinger. They're set at about 145mm (they can go from 120-160mm ish) with the rear shock set quite firm, missus, and with the shock compression doofer on number 4 it's just brill for general tooling around on. Kind of hardtail-ish (and that's A Good Thing) but with a switch on the shock that'll add all kinds of skill and bravery when you stick it back to 1. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Lovely.

Thanks. My Anthem SX is for sale ! I am going to have good look at both Flare and new 2017 Anthem and see which suits me best.

New Year New Bike 🙂

Keep us posted these vicarious threads are great

Well jambalaya, I copied you with the Audi, so you wanna buy an Anthem SX ? 😀

All online reviews read, will try get some test rides. New anthem makes most sense and can't find any negatives, but it's not a Cotic.... 😀

Are you in the North East?

Kayla, thanks, but in Glasgow. Cheers

Just ridden my new Flare Max off road for the first time - only a short half hour loop on the local hill because it's busy with boxing day walkers, but would certainly suggest looking at the Cotic Droplink bikes. Obviously new bike day and needs a proper ride but the classic 'didnt ride as heavy as what it is' and suspension seemed smooth and controlled but with lots of grip and traction, even on middle two settings of x Fusion shock. Initial impressions of HLR Mcqueen fork good too.

Good info, cheers. Just sold the Anthem SX so have to order a new something, Flare or new Anthem 😀

Anthem SX

🙂 have my PA frame to build up, been bidding on Souls and keep missing Bandit Frames. Want something to use up my 26" spares. Of course I have two very fine bikes which are not ridden enough as it is 😐

TBH it's me who should buy a cx or a used road bike as I need to ride from door more but am struggling to bring myself to.